EP 2 578 125 A1 and EP 2 604 163 A2 disclose the arrangement of a movable side arm on the appliance housing of a robotic vacuum cleaner. At a first end, this side arm is rotationally movably mounted in the appliance housing of the robotic vacuum cleaner. At least one brush element is arranged on a second end of the side arm which is largely opposite the first end. In a first position of the side arm, the second end thereof projects in front of the appliance housing of the robotic vacuum cleaner. The brush element arranged on the projecting end of the side arm makes it possible to clean those regions of a surface that cannot be reached or can only be unsatisfactorily reached by the suction mouth of the robotic vacuum cleaner. Particles of dust and dirt are reliably removed in particular from corner and edge regions of a surface to be cleaned.
This is problematic in that the movable side arms project, in a first position, in front of the appliance housing of the robotic vacuum cleaner such that there is a gap between the side arms and the appliance housing. In this case, the gap is produced between the appliance housing and the side of the side arm that is at the rear relative to the main movement direction of the robotic vacuum cleaner. Objects on the surface to be cleaned, for example cables or wires, may become caught in this gap during an autonomous cleaning operation of the robotic vacuum cleaner. The objects that have become caught generally prevent the cleaning operation from continuing autonomously, and often make it necessary for the user to manually remove the objects from the side arms, which is laborious. In addition, in regions having particularly complex layouts, projecting edges may become stuck in the gap between the appliance housing and the side arm. The robotic vacuum cleaner which has become stuck in this way cannot then autonomously continue the cleaning operation and needs to be manually released by the user.